A vehicle body structure in which a chassis frame member is extended longitudinally of a vehicle body and a crossmember is provided above the chassis frame member is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. HEI-6-67271, for example. This vehicle body structure will be described with reference to FIG. 6 hereof.
A vehicle body structure 100 shown in FIG. 6 includes a chassis frame member 101 extending longitudinally of a vehicle body and a crossmember 103 provided above a middle portion of the chassis frame member 101 via a large torque box (reinforcing member) 102 which doubles as reinforcements.
The large reinforcing member 102 is formed in a closed section so that the crossmember 103 is firmly fixed above the middle portion of the chassis frame member 101.
It is thus necessary to use the large reinforcing member 102 for firmly fixing the crossmember 103 above the middle portion of the chassis frame member 101.
There is a vehicle having a vehicle body structure in which a crossmember is attached to a rear end portion of a chassis frame member (hereinafter, referred to as a center frame member). For this vehicle body structure, it is not preferable to use a large reinforcing member 102 as described above, in terms of space saving.
A vehicle body structure shown in FIG. 7 is a conceivable example of firmly attaching a crossmember to a rear end portion of a center frame member as described above.
A vehicle body structure 110 shown in FIG. 7 includes a center frame member 111 extending longitudinally of a vehicle body, and a floor panel 115 placed on the center frame member 111. A front lower edge 114 of the crossmember 113 is attached to a rear upper surface 112 of the center frame member 111.
A floor tunnel 116 is formed in the floor panel 115. A rear end 117 of the floor tunnel 116 is joined to a front wall 118 of the crossmember 113.
With this, the crossmember 113 is supported by the floor tunnel 116 without using a large reinforcing member 102 as shown in FIG. 6.
However, considering the comfort of passengers, it is preferable to remove the floor tunnel 116 to make the floor panel 115 flat. When the floor tunnel 116 is removed, the crossmember 113 cannot be supported by the floor tunnel 116.
Thus, desired is a vehicle body structure in which a floor panel is flat without a floor tunnel, and a crossmember can be well supported on a rear end portion of a center frame member with a simple configuration.